1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We started Geisterfaust back in 2018. Our goal was to create our very own sound inspired or influenced by two genres we all listen to: black metal and sludge/doom metal. So we wanted make some heavy sludgy drones and combine them with fast riff cascades and raw vocals.
2. So far you have released 2 EPs, musically how do they both differ form each other?
The first EP was recorded in studio in late 2019 and can be seen as some kind of preview of what was to come. We started playing our first shows and the plan was to work on a first album but then pandemic put everything on hold… you all know that story. So after a short break due to the lockdowns we went on to write new songs until we were able to enter the stage again by the end of last year.
We decided to record that first show after 20 months and that was what has become our newest release called Servile Mirrors of Animosity - not to be seen as a live album in a classic sense but due to the fact that it has been recorded live in front of a crowd it is Geisterfaust in the most direct and unpolished way.
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?
Well, it's always kind of hard to put that into words, since words are just some sort of tool to transport a feeling, a thought, a situation or a perception. So let's say a word it's only a shape. It's not the feeling itself when you feel it, it's not the fear you feel and so on, you know. But at least it's an approach to describe a subject.
Using metaphors or maybe aphorisms is a good thing helping the listener to get a feeling of whats it is about. But also giving the listener enough room and leaving it to oneself to work with it.
But yeah, let's keep it short: it's about questioning the way we are, the way we live, the way everything outside of each and everyone one of us is and why it is the way it is. It's about questioning everything you have ever been thought, everything you have ever thought you know about. It's about negating all that stuff and trying to find out what is, I mean what really "is". You know like being aware of the "inner world" and of course the "outer world“. About finding yourself… and your inner truth, the essence of your whole being. Yeah, you can say a lot of the lyrics affect spiritual topics.
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ‚Geisterfaust‘?
To be honest, it's an album title of the german Doom-Jazz band called Bohren & der Club of Gore. But we felt that it has a good vibe and describes the feeling of our music very well: the feeling of knowing that something is lurking in our (sub)conscious mind, which is suppressing our true being and choking our neck with it's cold skeleton "Geisterfaust".
5. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork on the current EP cover?
The covershot was taken during the show by A. Kiefer, a friend of the band. It was too good to just be posted on social media, so we decided to put it on the cover because it just fits the vibe of the record… and it has been recorded live on location so why not put a photo from that on the cover of the release?
6. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Guess we all can consider the show that can be heard on Servile Mirrors of Animosity as our best show. It was the first one after a 20 month long break so it was a special feeling and even more intense than the live shows before the pandemic.
We don’t care a lot about “performing“ in a sense of a rock show. We play extreme and very loud, heavy music and whatever playing this music makes us act or look like in that moment, is what you get to see. You might call that our stage performance or stage presence but it is just us letting all these extreme emotions and feelings out without thinking if it might look cool or somewhat else.
7. Do you have any touring or show plans for 2022?
There are some things in the planning, so we will see what will be possible. After
a long time without any live music we are definitely ready to play some shows.
8. Recently 'Morbid And Miserable Records' released your current EP on physical formant, how did you get on contact with this label?
Morbid and Miserable released a compilation CD of Poisoned Speed last year,
a band in which two of us are active as well. Working together with them was very easy and we like their dedication for heavy underground music, so we got in touch again and they were very interested in releasing it on CD and spreading the word of Geisterfaust all over the US.
9. On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black and sludge metal?
The reactions have been very good since its the release. Most people seem to understand what we want to express with Geisterfaust.
Of course it’s a pretty special mix of two different subgenres that some people might don't get or don’t like. Some of the ultra conservative black metal dudes might not like the drones and slow guitars in their black metal and some sludge dudes might not like riffs that are too fast but we just don’t care about that - either you're open for that kind of stuff and you like it or you don't - for us it's that simple.
10. When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We are currently working on the last songs for the full-length. If everything works out the way we want it to, you can expect it to be recorded this year and hopefully to be released shortly after. We will keep walking our own path with our own sound.
11. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Well, there are too many to mention because all of us three listen to a shitload of bands and different styles of music. But we can pick some very few that we all can agree on and that might have had an influence on us, more or less. When it come to the drones, the heavy massive guitar worshipping that we do, one of the influences are the great and almighty Sunn O))) because they just take amplifier worshipping to a different level for years. We all like the southern sludge sound from New Orleans scene as well, but its influence on our music has become less over the time. On the black metal side there are many bands we all can agree on, like most of those coming from the Nidrosian scene under the banner of the Terratur Possessions label (like Darvaza, Mare, Whoredom Rife and so on).
Of course we also like some of the big names like Watain, Dissection or Darkthrone and a lot more of the not so big names, but they are too many to mention. Guess you can say that our sound wasn't influenced by a a few bands in particular - it was more the overall atmosphere of those bands that had an impact on what we wanted to merge into the sound of Geisterfaust.
12. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for your interest in Geisterfaust and for helping to spread our word.
http://geisterfaust.bandcamp.com/
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